COLUMBUS, Ohio - Nearly 500 fans, season ticket holders, former players, cheerleaders and Brutus Buckeye packed the Fawcett Center auditorium Friday night for the women's basketball Town Hall Meeting, which gave fans the chance to hear from and interact with head coach Kevin McGuff and his staff for the first time.

Fans started filling up the auditorium nearly an hour before the program began, buying and renewing season tickets, meeting current players and catching t-shirts and other prizes from Brutus and the spirit squad.

Play-by-play voice of the Buckeyes Marty Bannister did an outstanding job as emcee. McGuff started the program by explaining his philosophies and what his plan was for the women's basketball program. After, McGuff sat down with Bannister and answered questions from the fans. One thing McGuff made clear: this is going to be "A Player's Program".

"One of the things that make this university special, and specifically women's basketball, are the fans," McGuff said. "We have some amazing people who are really invested in our program and it was great to see this kind of a turnout tonight. I think we're just starting to scratch the surface of what we can do from a fan standpoint.

"It's important to me for our fans to understand what our program is going to be about and what I'm about. I thought this was a great opportunity to lay out the foundation of how we are going to build something very special."

Long-time season ticket holder and women's basketball supporter, Joyce Falk, was in attendance and loved the energy and excitement throughout the evening.

"I thought it was great, to come to an atmosphere like this and hear from the new coach and the staff," Falk said. "As a fan, you normally don't get this type of opportunity, so I thought it was great and I was enthused. I'm ready for (this season). We've been season ticket holders and supporters of women's basketball since way back in the 80's and going to the games before there were season tickets. There's new energy in the program and I think it's going to be great."

Bannister, who will be in his 11th season as the radio voice of the Buckeyes, feels a renewed sense of excitement around the program as well.

"I thought tonight was tremendous," Bannister said. "A turnout like this on a sweltering June night is outstanding. I think it shows how excited people are about this program."

The women's basketball program and the department of athletics would like to thank everyone for coming out Friday. We look forward to seeing you at the Schott in the fall. Be sure and click the link above to see photos from the evening.